1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair cosmetic composition suitable for setting or conditioning hair. Further, the present invention relates to a novel polymer suitable for preparing a hair cosmetic composition and, more particularly, to a polymer having polysiloxane groups so as to provide hair with good luster and gloss and smooth texture. The hair cosmetic composition of the present invention is suitable for maintaining a hairstyle (setting hair) and for conditioning hair, more specifically, for providing hair with softness, luster, combing smoothness, styling ease and enhanced volume, as well as for restoring damaged hair.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known organic solvent-based hair cosmetics containing water and/or alcohols, for example, shampoos, conditioners, rinses, treatment lotions, setting preparations, permanent wave lotions and mascara, contain emulsified, solubilized or dissolved oil ingredients, such as silicone-based compounds, fatty acid ester-based compounds or hydrocarbon-based compounds, for providing hair with luster, gloss and smoothness. Silicone-based compounds in particular are widely used these days because of their good characteristics.
Such silicone-based compounds are used in, for example: hair cosmetics containing silicone oils, such as 1 polydimethylsiloxane or polymetylphenylsiloxane, and/or emulsions thereof; 2 hair cosmetics containing hair-styling resins, such as cationic polymers and/or amphoteric polymers containing ether-modified silicone, such as polydimethylsiloxane-polyoxyalkylene block copolymers (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open Nos. 63-135319, 63-180814, 63-183520 and 1-128915); 3 shampoos, and rinses composed of amino-modified organopolysiloxane emulsions (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 63-307811); 4 treatment preparations containing cationic polymers and amino-modified organopolysiloxane emulsions and hair-styling preparations containing amphoteric polymers and the said emulsions (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 63-275515); and 5 hair cosmetics containing high-molecular polydimethylsiloxane, polymethylphenylsiloxane, or the like (as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 63-243019).
However, the known hair cosmetics containing silicone-based compounds have problems, such as if large amounts of silicone oils and/or ether-modified silicones are included in the hair cosmetics or they are used for a long period of time, they are liable to render the hair sticky or to be transferred from the hair to the hands or clothing, the emulsion type hair cosmetics do not have good dispersion stability; and high-molecular silicones cannot be applied to a wide range of hair cosmetics because they have rather poor compatibility with hair-styling resins, various additives or the like, and thus limiting their free formulations.
Further, because silicone-based compounds not having hydrophilic groups, such as polyether groups, are not easily removed from hair by ordinary washing, they turn the hair hydrophobic if a hair cosmetic containing silicone-based compounds is applied to the hair repeatedly for a long period of time, thereby causing problems in dying or permanent-wave treatment, or the like.
To eliminate the above problems, Japanese Patent Laid Open Nos. 2-25411, 3-128909 and 3-128311 disclose hair cosmetics employing polysiloxane-based graft polymers obtained by copolymerizing polysiloxane group-containing unsaturated monomers and hydrophilic unsaturated monomers and/or hydrophobic unsaturated monomers. However, production of these polysiloxane-based graft polymers entail some problems, as polysiloxane group-containing unsaturated monomers do not easily copolymerize with the counter parts. Further, to fully achieve the effects of the polysiloxane groups, the copolymerization ratio of the polysiloxane group-containing unsaturated monomers must be increased.
An object of the present invention is to provide a hair cosmetic containing a novel polymer which eliminates the above-stated problems such as limited free formulations and, more specifically, provides hair with luster, gloss and smooth texture without making the hair sticky, and does not accumulate on the hair even if it is repeatedly used for a long period of time, and which facilitates incorporating polysiloxane groups into a polymer regardless of the molecular weights of the polysiloxane groups so as to easily and fully achieve the effects of the polysiloxane.